Drones for EU-residents

Foreign EU operators are allowed to hold UAS operations in the OPEN category in The Netherlands without prior approval from the competent authority. Please be aware of general EU limitations applicable to the class of your operation. You can visit the EASA OPEN category rules for more information.
 
Besides these general limitations, national limitations apply to the OPEN category. Please refer to the GoDrone Map for more information. The app is only available in Dutch. However, a good rule of thumb is that red areas are not accessible in the open category. Yellow areas are high-risk areas. Be careful when operating your drone here; think about privacy, for example. Purple and blue areas are restricted areas, sometimes temporarily. It usually contains a date and time when there is an increased risk. Green areas are NATURE2000 areas. You are not allowed to fly here. You can request a permit from the relevant province.

Next to the geographical limitations, there is also a daytime limitation. In the Netherlands, you are not allowed to fly outside Uniform Daytime Period (UDP). This means that you are only allowed to fly between 15 minutes before sunrise until 15 minutes after sunset.

Foreign non-EU operators are allowed to hold UAS operations in the OPEN category in The Netherlands without prior approval from the competent authority.

You do need to register as a drone operator in the first EU country where you wish to fly. If your first country of operation is the Netherlands, you can register at the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority).

After registering as a drone operator, you might need a flying license. Depending on the weight of the drone, you need the A1/A3 or A1/A2/A3 flying license.

• <250 grams: you need to register but you do not need a license
• 250 grams – 500 grams: you need to register and need an A1/A3 flying license
• 500 grams – 2 kilograms: you need to register and need an A1/A2/A3 flying license
• 2 kilograms – 25 kilograms: you need to register and need an A1/A3 flying license

Important: a toy drone is designed for children up to 14 years old; usually, the packaging indicates this. With a toy drone, you do not need to register and you do not need a flying license.

Please be aware of general EU limitations applicable to the class of your operation. You can visit the EASA OPEN category rules for more information.
 
Besides these general limitations, national limitations apply to the OPEN category. Please refer to the GoDrone Map for more information. Unfortunately, this information is only available in Dutch.

However, a good rule of thumb is that red areas are not accessible in the open category. Yellow areas are high-risk areas. Be careful when operating your drone here; think about privacy, for example. Purple and blue areas are restricted areas, sometimes temporarily. It usually contains a date and time when there is an increased risk. Green areas are NATURE2000 areas. You are not allowed to fly here. You can request a permit from the relevant province.

Next to the geographical limitations, there is also a daytime limitation. In the Netherlands, you are not allowed to fly outside Uniform Daytime Period (UDP). This means that you are only allowed to fly between 15 minutes before sunrise until 15 minutes after sunset.

You are allowed to hold UAS operations in the OPEN category in The Netherlands without prior approval from the competent authority.

You do need to register as a drone operator in The Netherlands. You can register at the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority).

After registering as a drone operator, you might need a flying license. Depending on the weight of the drone, you need the A1/A3 or A1/A2/A3 flying license.

• <250 grams: you need to register but you do not need a license
• 250 grams – 500 grams: you need to register and need an A1/A3 flying license
• 500 grams – 2 kilograms: you need to register and need an A1/A2/A3 flying license
• 2 kilograms – 25 kilograms: you need to register and need an A1/A3 flying license

Important: a toy drone is designed for children up to 14 years old; usually, the packaging indicates this. With a toy drone, you do not need to register and you do not need a flying license.

Please be aware of general EU limitations applicable to the class of your operation. You can visit the EASA OPEN category rules for more information.

Besides these general limitations, national limitations apply to the OPEN category. Please refer to the GoDrone Map for more information. Unfortunately, this information is only available in Dutch. However, a good rule of thumb is that red areas are not accessible in the open category. Yellow areas are high-risk areas. Be careful when operating your drone here; think about privacy, for example. Purple and blue areas are restricted areas, sometimes temporarily. It usually contains a date and time when there is an increased risk. Green areas are NATURE2000 areas. You are not allowed to fly here. You can request a permit from the relevant province.

Next to the geographical limitations, there is also a daytime limitation. In the Netherlands, you are not allowed to fly outside Uniform Daytime Period (UDP). This means that you are only allowed to fly between 15 minutes before sunrise until 15 minutes after sunset.

If you fly a drone in the SPECIFIC category in the Netherlands, you must comply with national restrictions in addition to European rules. This ensures the safe flying of drones in the Netherlands.

BVLOS flights

Flying a drone beyond the line of sight of a pilot is considered a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight. In the Netherlands a generic operating permit does not allow you to fly BVLOS. A precise operating permit does. The generic permit is not bound to a specific time or place. A precise permit is. However, you must adhere to the following conditions and restrictions when flying BVLOS with a precise operating permit:

• For testing and experimenting, BVLOS flights are only allowed in a government-designated area. Which areas these are is still to be determined.
• In a Controlled Traffic Region (CTR) you can only fly BVLOS if your flight can be separated from manned traffic. This can be done, for example, by flying at a time when there is no manned traffic. For your BVLOS flight, you need permission from air traffic control.
• It is only if the BVLOS flight falls under the responsibility of EASA, EUROCONTROL or the European Commission that a Temporary Reserved Airspace (TRA) or Temporary Segregated Airspace (TSA) can be established. Also, the drone flight must be of general public interest.

Drone shows

You need an operating permit to fly drones during a drone show. Also, the following restrictions and conditions apply to drone shows:

• Flying BVLOS is not allowed.
• The drone show may only take place over an area not open to the public (Controlled Ground Area).
• The risk analysis (Specific Operation Risk Assessment or SORA) provided with the application for the operating permit includes an elaboration of the mitigation measure M1 on minimally the lowest level of robustness.

Maximum flight altitude

In the SPECIFIC category, you may not fly higher than 120 metres above the ground or water. If specified in your operating permit, you may fly higher in a-typical airspace (within 30 metres of an object) or in controlled or segregated airspace. To fly in controlled airspace, you need specific permission from air traffic control.

Transponder use in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, flying a drone in airspace other than a Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) does not require a transponder.

Flights requiring a transponder for safety reasons are currently not allowed. Procedures are being developed to allow limited use of transponder for flights for which the air traffic service provider requires a transponder for safety reasons.

The Regeling boorduitrusting (Aircraft Equipment Regulation, only in Dutch) will be amended to ensure the use of Mode S or ADS-B transponders for controlled flights will only apply to the planned drone flight or flights.

Foreign EU operators wanting to hold cross-border operations in The Netherlands in the SPECIFIC category need an OA or Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC). Declarations related to standard scenarios, whether national or EU format, cannot be accepted.

The foreign OA should allow for the desired operations in The Netherlands in general. Generic OA’s, rather than precise ones, are most suitable.

With a generic OA, you have more options than with a precise OA. For example, you might have an OA that only allows flights nearby stadiums. This is a precise OA. If your OA allows you to fly over sparsely populated areas, in controlled and uncontrolled airspace, this is considered a generic permit. With a generic permit, you are not limited in your operations.

For example, does your OA state that your company can only carry out flights in uncontrolled airspace? If so, you are not allowed to fly in the Netherlands in controlled airspace. If you do wish to fly in controlled airspace, it is mandatory to change your OA. You can apply for a change with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in your country of registration. In this case, you want to apply for a generic OA that allows you to carry out flights in controlled airspace.

Would you like to submit an application for cross-border operations in The Netherlands? You can use this form: Application for a cross-border UAS operation in the ‘specific’ category. Make sure to send the following information with your application:

• An application form for cross-border UAS operations in the specific category.
• A copy of the generic OA that allows flights for the required operation in general.
• An operational plan that includes identification of applicable local conditions and adapted operational procedures as necessary.
• Relevant sections of the operations manual. Please refer to AMC1 Article 13 (b)(3)(ii).
• Evidence of compliance with requirements related to amended procedures, if not covered by the relevant sections of the operations manual or operational plan. Please refer to AMC1 Article 13 (b)(3)(iii).
• Justification for lowering iARC, (intrinsic Air Risk Class) if applicable.

You will receive an e-mail from us when we start processing your application.

Citizens of a non-EU country can hold UAS operations in The Netherlands. You do need to register as a drone operator in The Netherlands if this is the first EU country you wish to fly in. You can register at the RDW (Netherlands Vehicle Authority).

After that, you can apply for an Operational Authorisation (OA), using this form: Application operational authorisation UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System).

You need to send us at least the following information or documents:

• The assessment of the flight operations risks. This may be a Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) or a Pre-defined Risk Assessment (PDRA).
• A list of mitigation measures proposed by you as a UAS operator. You ensure that all information provided can be assessed for adequacy by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate.
• A Concept of Operations (CONOPS) and an operational manual if required by the risk and complexity of the flight operation.
• Evidence of suitable insurance.

Do you wish to leave the application for an OA to another party, such as a consultant? If so, you can issue an authorisation for this, using this authorisation form. You can authorise the following activities:

• Applying for or changing an operating license.
• Applying for or changing a Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC).
• Applying for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights.
• Applying for waivers.

Flying in the certified category is not possible yet. More information will follow.

This depends on the category in which you fly. In the open category, you can use the app GoDrone (GoDrone) to see which areas are not accessible for the open category. The app is only available in Dutch. However, a good rule of thumb is that red areas are not accessible in the OPEN category. Yellow areas are high-risk areas. Be careful when operating your drone here; consider privacy, for example. Purple and blue areas are restricted areas, sometimes temporarily. It usually contains a date and time when there is an increased risk. Green areas are NATURE2000 areas. You are not allowed to fly here. You can request a permit from the relevant province.

If you fly in the specific category, the foreign Operational Authorisation (OA) allows the desired operations in The Netherlands. Generic OA’s, rather than precise ones, are most suitable.

With a generic OA, you have more options than with a precise OA. For example, you might have an OA that only allows flights nearby stadiums. This is a precise OA. If your OA allows you to fly over sparsely populated areas, in controlled and uncontrolled airspace, this is considered a generic permit. With a generic permit, you are not limited in your operations.

For example, does your OA state that your company can only carry out flights in uncontrolled airspace? If so, you are not allowed to fly in the Netherlands in controlled airspace. If you do wish to fly in controlled airspace, it is mandatory to change your OA. You can apply for a change with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in your country of registration. In this case, you want to apply for a generic OA that allows you to carry out flights in controlled airspace.

No, the Dutch CAA cannot grant permits in the OPEN category.

If you wish to fly in that specific area, you need to apply for a generic OA at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the country of registration. After that, you can apply for a cross-border operation in the Netherlands.

You can use a question form via contact if you wish to apply for a cross-border operations permit in The Netherlands. Please mention that you wish to apply for a cross-border drone operation. Also make sure to send the following information with your application: 

• An application form for cross-border UAS operations in the specific category.
• A copy of the generic OA that allows flights for the required operation in general.
• An operational plan that includes identification of applicable local conditions and adapted operational procedures as necessary.
• Relevant sections of the operations manual. Please refer to AMC1 Article 13 (b)(3)(ii).
• Evidence of compliance with requirements related to amended procedures, if not covered by the relevant sections of the operations manual or operational plan. Please refer to AMC1 Article 13 (b)(3)(iii).
• Justification for lowering iARC, (intrinsic Air Risk Class) if applicable.